Emporia Celebrates the Flint Hills is using a new approach to bring a new mural to downtown Emporia.
Group member Duane Henrikson says Emporia Celebrates the Flint Hills wanted to try a different approach because the traditional approach for murals — painting directly on exterior walls — tends to fade over time. There was some talk of using vinyl, but that was shelved as another surface — aluminum — took precedence because of their light weight, sturdiness and vandal-resistant qualities. The current is at the southeast corner of Sixth and Commercial.
Henrikson says the aluminum option was also appealing because it lets the mural be changed for different seasons or different community events. Additional mural locations are under discussion at this time.
This is the latest community outreach project through Emporia Celebrates the Flint Hills, which had become known for its Pianos on the Pavement and Secondhand Sounds activities in early June around the time of the Dirty Kanza and Flint Hills Rodeo. Henrikson says there will be a “prairie pocket” at Eastside Park where an area of native stone and grasses will be prominently featured.
This is also the latest mural in downtown Emporia, including a vinyl mural posted on the north side of the Emporia Main Street building at Eighth and Commercial in March and a traditional mural on the back of Mulready’s Pub painted in 2016. Other murals, including one in the 600 block of Merchant and at 11th and Commercial, have been established for years.
